KenG Bio

As an artist, I do four things; Oils on Canvas (Social Commentary), Drawings of National Parks, Photography of Birds and California Native Plants and 2D/3D Digital. Since most here will be interest in digital work, I'll talk about that. I started in the digital world with a TI-99/4a computer in the early 1980's and immediately started creating art and animation with a very limited graphic range in hexadecimal code (16 colors, 256 shapes). I eventually became a published artist for Asgard Software and a year later when out on my own to form “Notung Software” which became on of the most popular TI Software companies. After making my switch to the PC, I started with Sketcher (the precursor to Painter) and even owned Fractal Design's "Poser 1". I didn't start seriously playing with Poser until Version 3 came around. With the advent of Poser 4, I began by creating textures and became a brokered artist at Vista Internet Products where I created my first bird model and the PoserTown series. After almost a year with Vista, I decided to go out on my own and briefly revived Notung Software. At Siggraph 2001, I was asked if I'd be interested in being a brokered artist for the newly formed "DAZ 3D". Of course, I said yes and started as a clothes texture artist. I really didn’t find my nitch in the 3D world until I partnered with BL Render to do the Songbird ReMix Series in 2003. The following year, I came into my own blending my love and knowledge of birds with a strong environmental theme "Threatened, Endangered, Extinct". Designed specifically to raise awareness about threatened species and why they're going extinct. Songbird ReMix imagery have appeared in Duncraft’s product advertisements, in Audubon literature and even on billboards in Nebraska (for the “Omaha Reads: To kill a Mockingbird”) Since then I’ve steadily worked on improving my texturing with Painter and my 3D modeling skills with Modo, creating a little art and animation, and of course, producing more 3D birds with a strong environmental message. I left DAZ3D in June 2013 to team up with DAZ co-founder, Chris Creek and his new 3D publishing site, Hivewire3D. Besides being a 3D Artist, I work at home as a freelance artist/photographer and web designer and also volunteer at the Theodore Payne Foundation (a Foundation that focuses a native plant awareness). I am Gallery represented and do sell my "traditional" and digital work.
On February 12, 2010, I was inducted into the TI99ers Hall of Fame.

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Description

As far as anyone can determine, the Mau'i Parrotbill had not historically had a common name in the Hawaiian language. The name Hawaiian kiwikiu was developed by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee, who was contacted by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project to select an appropriate name. A naming ceremony was held in the bird's habitat in September 2010. The "kiwi" part of the name means bent or curved (e.g., sickle-shaped), which refers to the shape of the bill of this bird. "Kiu" has a double meaning, referring both to the bird's secretive ways and to a cold, chilly wind, such as the breezes in the bird's habitat.

The Kiwikui is critically endangered with less than 500 individuals remaining on the north-eastern slopes of Haleakala in Mau'i. From 1945 to 1995, the invasion of feral pigs on Haleakala caused chronic habitat degradation and facilitated the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes into remote rainforests. Most of the species’ range is now fenced however, and the species may respond positively as a result. However, the interaction between malaria and climate change is a potential future threat; modeling has suggested a possible population decline of c.75% by 2090.